The Sun. — London, England, 1864-12-23 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA, From tke Times' Correspondent.) NEW YORK, Dee. 9. ought to have, very serious misgivings that the rapid decay of Foreign trade will soon deprive the Custom House orthe supplies of gold which are necessary to meet the interest on the Five-twenty Bonds and other securities, he cautiously prepares the public mind to entertain the idea that it will or may be come necessary to pay such interest in greenbacks. Not that he advocates such a course of prooeeding. On the contrary, he thinks that the pledge to pay in gold ought not to be violated. He argues, however, that when the pledge was given no one anticipated a possible continuance of the war for such a length of time as would involve the in crease of the public debt to the pint it has already attained, or the possible payment of interest in coin to an amount beyond the ability of duties or imposts to supply. "If a departure from the pledge could be vindicated at all," he says, " it could only be by one of those State necessities which justify a nation in temporarily postponing its obligations in order to preserve the power to discharge them at a future day." This is mildly and euphemistically Repudiation, under the plea of State necessity, and points the path which the Republic will follow—if peace be much longer postponed, and if Mr Lin coln do not speedily gain some more brilliant success than any which have yet rewarded either his gene• rals, his admirals, or his diplomatists. Upon the whole Mr Fessenden's report gives no satisfaction to any body, nor is it easy to see how it could. His facts must be as unwelcome to himself as his exposition of them must be to the public, and it would be about as reasonable to call upon Mrs Partington to express satisfaction with the waves of the Atlantic, which she was vainly mopping out of her cottage, as to ex pect Mr Fessenden to look with cheerfulness on the rising deluge of indebtedness, which not all the mops in America can mop cut. Mr Seward is a happier man than his colleagues. The last contribution to his volume of 3,000 pages of close print bears date so lately as the sth inst., and is pabiished in all the principal journals of this morning, so that the public, frustrated—but only for a time—of the full treat that is in store for them, might enjoy at the earliest possible moment, and while it was fresh and hot, the choicest of all eta. =oracle to be picked our of the ponderous volume. To be able to insult England and Egg. lishmen, to snub a lord, to make political capi tal for himself, to flatter the anti-British preju dices of his countrymen, and to talk of the South in a patronising manner in one and the same dome ment was too glorious an opportunity for the Secre tary of State to let slip. His delight appears to be extreme. He positively revels in vituperative mis statement, and crows, like chanticleer, a long clear note of defiance to the slumbering British lion. Lord Wharnchffe, it appears, put himself in commu nication with Mr Adams to ask permission from the Federal Government to send through the hands of an accredited agent the sum of £17,000, which had been raised at the Liverpool Bazaar for the benefit of Southern prisoners of war confined in the prisons and bastiles of the North. Mr Adams replied in a cautious but courteous note, and referred the whole matter to Mr Seward. Mr Seward's official reply to Mr Adams is neither cautious nor courteous, but bold, insolent, and, in one important respect, false. He disallows Lord Wharncliffe's demand to distribute " British gold " in America, and directs Mr Adams to close the correspondence. He then goes on to assert that the sum thus insidi ously and ostentatiously offered in the name of hu manity constitutes no very large portion of the prefits which its contributors may be justly sups posed to have made by blockade running, and that no portion of the American people will be disposed to regard the £17,000 in question as a " too gener ous equivalent for the devastation and dissolution which a civil war promoted and protracted by Brie tish subjects has spread throughout the States, which before were eminently prosperous and happy.' this sentence is not so much Buncombe as it is Sea ward. What British subjects, and of what quality they were, who promoted the civil war, it would puzzle even Mr Seward to name or designate. It has often been reiterated by pro-slavery Democrats that Mr G. Thompson, late M.P. for the Tower Ham lets, and other British subjects, ware employed by Exeter Hall and the British aristocracy to lecture on negro emancipation in America, and thus to sow the seeds of disunion, and break up the great Ame ricsn Republic. It is known to Mr. Seward, as well as to Mr. Horace Greeley, Mr. Garrison, Mr. Wendell Phillips, Mr. Joshua Giddings, Mr. Charles Sumner, and other leading orators and lights of the Republican party, that some of them tacitly, and others overtly, held the Union to be a " league with death and a covenant with hell." and that the Abo litionists were the first sad the most eloquent and persevering of all disunionists. It is, therefore, a singular lack of memory or of p►inciple in the Secre tary of S►ate to repeat the cry of his pro-slavery opponents and attribute,either directly or indirectly, the disruption of the Union to British influence or fomentation. Mr. Seward, however, knows better. He is speaking to and for " Buncombe;" and if fact and Buncombe are on the opposite sides of his dis honest statement, rant pis pour le fait, and so much the better for "Buncombe." But, perhaps, the crowning impertinence of the letter is where Mr Seward declares his opinion that the Southern people have not yet become debased, although they have sadly wandered from the paths of loyalty and patriotism; and that, therefore, they will rejoice in common with their Northern fellow-countrymen (I) R in being saved by their (sic) considerate and loyal Government (and Mr Seward) from the grave insult which Lord Wnarnciiffe and his associates, in their z -al for the overthrow of the United States, have prepared for the victims of this unhatural and hope less rebellion." Tails is as cool as it is delicious, and is probably as favourable a specimen as the 3,000 pages of his forthcoming volumes will afford of the opaque jocularity which Mr Seward passes 'or wit and argument. In a short speech to the people from the balcony Of the White House, Mr Lincoln happily summa rised, in la'.a own peculiar manner, the facts of the military situation. "I know," he said, " where Sher men went in, but I don't know where he will come out." The public, both of the North and the South, and possibly Geen. Sherman himself, are in the same state of ignor ance. From Grant's army there come symptoms of a new movement against Petersburg and 13:chni end, and from Tennessee something more than rumour to suggest, if not to prove, that Gen. Hood's operations are assuming large and unex pected importance. The public, however, has been so wholly engrossed during the last three days with the President's Message and the reports of the Secre taries of the Treasury, the Navy, and the Post office, as to have had but little time to bestow upon any other topic of public interest. Mr Seward'3 big thing," as the President might call it, has not yet been issued, and Mr Stanton has been too seri ously Indisposed to complete his report; but there needed neither of these to add to the already arduous labour of all whose business or duty, or even whose curiosity, compels them to peruse the State papers of the day. Mr Fessenden's report is the one that is naturally studied with the greatest anxiety, and its figures, taken in connection with Mr Lincoln's as• severation that he will and must continue the war until the South lays down its arms and resumes its allegiance, have cast a gloom over the public mind and filled Wall-street with dismal forebodings. In■ creaaed taxation, a 20 per cent income tax, the de cline of foreign trade, fresh loans at exorbitant rates of interest, new:and immense issues of paper money, the expansion of prices, and gold at 300 per cent. premium —such, in whole or part, appear to be the melancholy prospects of the country if the obsti nate South will but persist for another 12 months in setting the North at defiance. The imme diate effect of the publication of these docu ments was to advance the premium on gold 6 per cent, on Wednesday. On Thursday, in spite of all the efforts of the financial agent of the °ovum. ment to bring it down, the price was maintained, and to day the tetedency is still upwards. Mr Lincoln, in his Message, fails to realise the expectations excited by the recent conciliatory speech of General litutler. He has nothing to pro pose to the South but unconditional submission ; and, so far from smoothing the way for the return of the prodigal son or the repentant sinner, he takes pains to impress upon the people and leaders of the Confederacy that measures far more strin gent than any he has yet suggested may be em ployed to coerce and to punish, if not to extermi nate them. He draws a somewhat agreeable picture of the monetary condition of the North, but, know ing from the information placed before him by his Secretary of the Treasury that the tax bearing capa city of his people is much more limited than his necessities, he sees that popular loans, immense in their magnitude, would be exceedingly convenient. Without any expectation of procuring such loans from foreign capitalists, he depends for assistance-- and none will blame him—upon his own people ex clusively. He does not seem, however, to rely much upon their unaided and impulsive patriotism, but suggests a scheme by which he thinks their cupidity and selfishness may be turned to better account in replenishing the public purse. For a man whose peculiar virtue in the eyes of his neighlLur when he was one of themselves in the little town of Springfield,lino:s, was his honesty, the President bas odd, not to say loose, notions as regards money. "He boasts jocularly," says a writer on finance who daily enlightens the public of this city on the misunderstood or perverted truths of political eco. nomy, "that he never in his life knew any more about what money was than that it was something that somebody else would take from him in payment of a debt, and that a counterfeit, if it would pass, would be just as good to him as gold." It is pos eibts that Mr Lincoln never said anything of the kind, yet after the extraordinary suggestion con tained in his Message it is difficult to exonerate him entirely from the charge of a little—perhaps a very little—blindness on the subj ect of commercial honour and the binding obligations of a debt. In view of the increasing nccEssities of the State for means to carry on the war, which he will do nothing to stop, he publicly recommends that the public debt should be distributed over the greatest possible number of people; and to further this highly desirable end suggests " whether it might not be both expedient and competent for Congress to provide that a limited amount of some future issue of public securities might be held by any bona fide purchaser exempt from taxation and from seizure for debt, under such restrictions and limitations as may be necessary to guard against abuse of so important a privilege." Mr Feesenden, instructed by his chief, supports, bnt in more guarded language, the President's idea. " If," aays the Secretary, "our public debt must necessarily be large and require a long course of yearn for its liquidation, its wide diffusion is most desirable. Such advantages should be offered as will induce all who have anything to spare beyond the amount required for their own support or use to invest the surplus, or a portion of it, in the na tional securities. These advantages can only be found in an increased rate of interest, an exemption from public burdens, and security of possession. What limit should be fixed in either of these pare healers it is for the practical wisdom of Congress to ascertain and determine." The fiscal as well as moral objections to Mc Lincoln'a and Mr Fess en den's proposal are obvious and palpable. Tne scheme, if ever carried into effect, would in the first place be over costly in offeriog a higher tha❑ the current rate of interest ; in the second, it would in proportion to its success diminish the area of taxation, which it is the true policy of the Government to extend ; and, in the third, it would offer on the part of the State a direct incentive to and premium upon dis honesty. " Invest a hundred thousand dollars or any smeller sum," the Government might say to any man whose money it coveted, "in the public funds, and if hereafter you fail in business and are compelled to compound with your creditors, that auto at least shall belong to you and your family, and no law or judgment of law shall be able to touch it." It is true that both Mr Lincoln and Mr Fessenden foresee that such a privilege," as the former calls it, might be abused, and that they pro pose to surround its exercise with difficulties and limitations ; but there needs no exhaustive know ledge of human nature, or of that quality so admired in America under the name of "smart. ness," to be able to foretell that the ingenuity or cunning of the man who desired to lay by such a nest-egg for future use would be more than a match for any obstructions which an Act of Congress might interpose. The project has as yet found no one to defend it. At the same time it has found few to condemn, or scarcely to criticise it. Perhaps, however, the conscience of the mer cantile community will yet revolt at a proposition so immoral. Perhaps, also, men without conscience, who may happen to have money to invest will hesitate before they lend it to a Government which seems to set so little stare upon common honesty. It debtors can repudiate their personal liabilities by the simple act of lending their stirpari to the Go vernment, may not the Government repudiate them and their debt hereafter as soon as diminishing re• ceipts from taxation shall make repayment incon• veyient ? ST. ANDREW'S LIFEBOAT.—The quarterly trial of the lifeboat took place on Saturday afternoon. As th's was the first trial since the wreck of the Napoleon and appointment of the new committee, much interest was exhibited in the result, and more especially as the com mittee had chosen a day when an unusually heavy swell was on the sea. Consequently a very large crowd of people assembled to witness the trial. The committee were on the spot at the hour appointed, and the coxswain, but most of the crew did not appear till some time after, when they, under the merest pretences, refused to go out in the boat that day. A volunteer crew from among those on the spot was called for and procured ; and the boat was by them launched, and away they went, facing the foaming breakers and a stiff breeze which was blowing from the eastward, and they passed several tremendous waves, and were a good way beyond the pier-head. When abreast of a very heavy roller, several of the oars were broken, and others were swept away, so that the boat was nearly capsized ; a nd th e crew were obliged to put into the East Sands, where they got a supply of oars, and again set off and brought round the boat all safe into the harbour, amidst the plaudits of the assembled crowds. We cannot too highly applaud the bravery of the volunteer crew; and we would:mention that much credit is due to Mr Robert Campbell, advocate, lleriot-row, Edinburgh, who happened to be present with his brother, Professor Camp bell, of St Andrews University, and who with others went out as a volunteer. The experience of Saturday will, we understand, be the means of some method being adopted for procuring a lifeboat crew which can, under all circum • stances, be relied upon. Notwithstanding the disadvan tages under which the trial was made on Saturday, Captains Wright and Scott, and other nautical men, expressed it as having been a most important and satisfactory trial.— Scakman. Mr Fcsgenden does not take b y any_ Ili means so c heerful a view Of the stateo h fphuebr he liCbtf.ttra as I Li nco l n . Ha is doubtful 'Whether can extractthn 18 much more out of the pee -et a o f the people warranted, but not always obtained. 'unr the l pre Sent Internal Itavenue Act, and t h e eziarin tariff,- g bu and sees no mode of making both ends meet loans and the issue of inconvertible paper and a re pudiation, if necessity compel, of the obligation to pay interest in gold. He also seems to believe that the objects of the war, even if they be attained, win not be , :vorth their cost, and hints that if the Ars e _ rrcan people had really known what was before them when they took up arms to coerce their Southern brethren,;and compel a voluntary political partner ship—for such is their illogical, if not impossible purpose—they would have done what Gee. Scott recommended, and said to the seceding States, " Wayward sisters, depart in peace Having, as he A RAILWAY MYSTERY.—A curious ease, for which a solution has not been found, puzzled the railway officials at Halton on Tuesday. It seems that on the previous night some one had entered one of the water closets, and had there divested himself of every particle of clothing, even to the stockings, all of which were found in the closet. Nothing is known of the owner, but it is certain that he must have left the place in another suit or have ap peared in a state of nature. In the first case, he is pre sumed to have been some one with the best of reasons for a change of dress . and in the latter, and less likely case, some suicide who has watched an opportunity to get into the river. The police are making inquiry into the case. [ADVERT ISEMENT.3—HoIIoway's ointment and pills have over and over again proved the best friend to persons afflicted with ulcerations, bad legs, sores, abscesses, fistulas, and other painful and complicated complaints. Printed and very plain directions for the application of the ointment are wrapped round each pot. Holloway's alterative pills inriaitia:)etaken throughout the progress of the cure, to then the e b lt ic i lod in a state of perfect purity, and to pre vent, ailment. the whole oldbody e,beeignr by the loeajeopardised grievance, are thusgeat readily cured withoutg age's bed, or withdrawing from him c t o i lifining the patient to generous support so imperativel m y demandede nutritiouswhen weaken ingand diseases attack adv a aced years or con s tit ut i ons ev i ncing premature decrspitada. tHE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 23,11864. Naval and Military Intelligence. His Royal Highness the Feld Marshal Command ing-in. Chief will hold a levee at 1 o'clock on the 4th January. It appears that the depot battalion in the camp at Colchester occupy the following position in the re turns of the Inspector General of Musketry :-10th Battalion, 55 in order of merit (as compared with 91 in 1862- 3) ; 9th Battalion, 102 in order of merit (as compared with 102 in 1862-3) ; 4th depot battalion. 111 (as compared with 93 in 1862 3). The figure of merit of the 10:h depot battalion this year is 4293; its strength, exclusive of recruits, was 566, and it had 33 first class shots, and 13 second class, while there were 88 in the first class in judging dis• tancEs. The three best judges of distances among the officers of the battalion were Capt. Evans, of the 38th, Major Radcliffe, of the 88th, and Capt. Rays• mond, of the 44th. The figure of merit of the 9th depot battalion is 39.95; its strength, exclusive of recruits, was 572 ; it had 39 first class shots, and 13 second class shots, while there were 84 in the first class in judging distances. The three best judges of distances among the officers of the battalion were Capt. Conran, of the 58th, Lieut. Bowers, of the 6th, and Ensign Walmeley, of the 56th. The figure of merit of the 4th depot battalion is 39.28 ; its strength, exclusive of recruits, was 431 ; it had 29 first class shots, and 9 second class shots, while there were 73 in the first class in judging distances. The three best judges of distances among the officers were Capt. Brandt, of the 103 d, Capt. Skinner, of the 82d, and Capt. Milligan, of the 73d. In accordance with the annual custom the non commissioned officers and men of the Royal Marine Light Infantry now doing duty at head-quarters, Chatham, who may be desirous of spending the Christmas holidays with their friends, will be granted several days' leave of absence for that pur pose. This privilege is only accorded to men of good character, who have shown themselves worthy of the indulgence. The men to whom leave of absence is granted will leave headquarters to-day and to morrow. The Duke of Somerset, K.G., First Lord of the Admiralty, and Vice-Admiral tee Hon. Sir Fredes rick Wm. Grey, K.C.8., the first Sea Lord, arrived yesterday afternoon from Stover-house, by South Devon Railway, at Plymouth, where they were re ceived by Port Admiral Sir Charles H. Fremantle, K.C.8., and suite. fhe visit is supposed to be in connection with the completion of the iron-cased ship Caledonia for the reception of an Admiral's flag, the alterations now in progress on board the Prince Consort, and those on board other ships at Devonport. The Helicon, paddlewheel despatch screw gun vessel, of 835 tons, and 250 horse power engines, is ord,red to be launched horn No. 1 building slip at Portsmouth on Tuesday, the 31st of Janus ry, 1865. Tne Helicon was originally laid down on the slip way on which she is now approaching completiol. from the same drawings from which the Psyche and Enchantress were built, the former now doing duty as a despatch vessel in the Mediterranean, and the latter as yacht to the Lords of the Admi ralty. In their proportionate power of engines to tonnbge, however, neither the Psyche nor the En chantress realised the rate of speed under steam which had been expected of them, a great portion of the power of their engines being apparently spent in overcoming the resistance made to their rapid pro gress through the water by the wave raised in front of their bows by their hollow lines forward and their disposition to press their cntwaters downwards into the sea when feeling the full power of their engines. Mr Reed, the present chief contractor of the navy, soon after his appointment, undertook to remedy these serious defects in the lines of construction of the Helicon, which had already been proved to have such a pernicious influence upon the speed and sea worthiness of her two sister vessels, and certainly he appears to have effected great and important improvements in her construction. When he first undertook the task the Helicon was getting well on with her outer planking, and possessed the same hollow lines forward as her predecessors. Mr Reed had her taken down from for ward to abaft her mid ship section, and built her up afresh. according to his own designs. In her previous form the Helicon would have been fitted with the old fashioned style of head-knee, figurehead, rail, and other overhang. ing gear beyond the water-borne line of the vessel's null. In the new form given her by Mr Reed she is without these useless projections, while her stem head falls inboard considerably, giving her stein the swan breast shape ; the U form of her section amid ships is carried well forward by the improvement of her looks below the water line, hollow bows are superseded, and she gives promise of greatly in creased seaworthiness and speed over her sister ves sels. The Helicon is but a small vessel, but there is every possibility of her future career increasing Mr Reed's reputation as a naval archittct. In con& quence of some leaks having been dis covered in the ironclad frigate Achilles, 20, 1,250 horse power, Capt. Vansittart, one of the officiais from Chatham dockyard, under whose superintend ence she was built, is ordered to proceed to Ports mouth for the purpose of discovering and making good the defsot. The examination by the Civil Service Commis. sioners of the candidates from Pembrzke Dock tor admission as apprentices at Caatham has just been completed. Only eigat candidates presented them selves, which is the smallest number on record, and all were successful. The following appointments have teen made at the Admiralty :—tient. C. Jenkins, to the Asia; Lieut. William St. Ives, to the Cumberland—Lieut. Henry Berkeley, to the Blenheim—Cornelius Fox, master, to the Indus, for the Z e alous—Robert W. Foster, midshipman, to the Black Prince—and Alexander M GrEeme, midshipman, to the Aurora —Commander W, Joiliffe to the Devastation, vice Commander Pike, invalided—Sub-Lieut. Oswald P. Tudor, Sub.. Lieut. Cecil M. Turner, Sub-Lieut. Robert C. Jolliffe, Sub-Lieut. David M. Smith, Sub-Lieut. Charles A. Tucker, and Sub-Lient. Frederick N. C. Hall, to the Euryalus —Sub-Lieut. W. G. Lecoq to the Victoria—Sub-Lieut. Charles F. Cox to the Datence—Sub-Lieut. James B. Haye to the Research—Henry C. Tremayne and W. H. Wyllys, masters' assistants, to the Cadmus—T. Pilwell, master's assistant, to the Dee—John E. Petley and Cecil B. Franks, masters' assistants, to the Highflyer—E. Armstrong, J. S. Ramsay, J. Maclaurin, and Henry A. T. Cummins, assist. clerks (additional), to the Fisgard—F. C. Good, assist. clerk, to the IrrEsistible—G. F. 'Darter, assist. clerk, to the Frederick William—Arthur A. Pearson, assist. clerk, to the Pembroke—and W. H. Why. ham, assist. clerk, to the Excellent. The undermentioned gentlemen have been nomi. nated to naval cadetships :—James Gairdner, Robt. M. Johnstone, Alfred A. Ashington, William T. Bourke, Cadrington Fraser Crawahay, and Percy Hockin. GOVERNMENT EMIGRATION.—The Go7ernment emigrant ship Adamant, 815 tons, Capt. Lodwick, belonging to Messrs Lachlan, Macleod, and Co., London, which sailed from Plymouth on the 16th July last, arrived at Adelaide, South Australia, on the 19th October, with 368 emigrants, comprising 82 married people, 121 single men, 99 single women, 29 boys and 26 girls between one and twelve years of age, and 11 infante, under the care of Mr W. Gordon Gun, surgeon-superintendent, assisted by Mies Mary Hooper, matron, and Mr John Cruett, schoolmaster. Two births took place on the voyage. No deaths took place. The Emigration Commissioners chartered yester day the Trebolgan, 1,171 tons, Mr George Borlack, master, belonging to Mr George H. Wakefield, Liverpool, to convey emigrants to Sydney, New South Wales, at £l2 18s 9d per statute aeult. The ship is to sail from Birkenhead about the 17th of February. LOST AMONG THE HILLS —A correspondent writing from tergarff, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, sends us the following particulars of the remarkable prPservatiou from death of a woman afrer three days' and three nights' wandering among the snow Isabella Burton or Camp bell, a vagrant, 73 years of age, a native of Manchester, left the farmhouse of Inchmore about 2 o'clock on Wednes_ day afternoon, the 14th instant, to proceed to Laggnould, three miles distant. It appears that she had sat down by the way and fallen asleep, and it being dark when she awoke she lost her track and wandered among the hills (on which was a considerable depth of snow) for 72 hours, when she was found lying at the side of the river Don, half a mile from its source, greatly exhausted. She was carried back to Inchmore by the persons who had turned out in search of her, and every attention was paid to her, She is rapidly recoTering."—Scoesm ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. HOME CIRCUIT.—LEwEs, Dec. 22. (Before Mr Baron Chanaell.) The commission for the county of Sussex was opened on Wednesday, and business was proceeded with this morn■ ing. The callenear contains the names of 18 prisoners, but the offences are nearly all wLat may be described as session cases. The learned judge, in his charge to the grand jury, con gratulated them upon the lightness of the calendar, and also upon the facts that there was not the name of a single juvenile offender contained in it, $r any charge of arson of the ordinary class of such cases, involving the destruction of farm iroduce. THE CHARGE AGAINST MRS. GRANT. Mr Grantham applied to the curt to allow the trial of Mrs Grant, the widow of Major Grant, of the Indian army, who is accused of wilfully and feloniously setting fire to her dwelling-house, at Brighton, to hi postponed to the spring assizes. Baron Chianti' said that the natter was mentioned to him at Maidstone, but at the time he had not the power to act judicially in reference to an donee alleged to have been committed in another county. Hehad originally understood that Mr Baron Martin, by whoa the case was postponed at the summer assizes, intendet it to come on at the present gaol delivery, but from inquiries he had made, both of the learned judges and the counsel retained in the cause, he had reason to believe that there was some doubt upon the point, and he therefore thought he should not be justi fied in refusing the application. The trial consequently stands ever to the spring assizes. George Mattey, 18, a respectable-looking youth, described as a pupil teacher, was charged elith feloniously forging and uttering en order for the payment of £l5O. Mr Roupell prosecuted—and tie prisoner was defended by Mr Besley. The prosecutor in this case is ;he Rev. Mr Roper, who resides at Hove, near Brighton. Mr Roper is a very aged man, suffering a great deal fromdifferent bodily infirmities, among which was that of beini nearly blind. The pri goner was employed by Mr Roper as an amanuensis, and it was his duty to attend him every morning and to read to him in the library, and to write from his dictation. Occa sionally, it appeared that be enployed the prisoner to fill up the bodies of cheques for Am, but, although his sight was defective, he invariably put his own signature to the cheque as well as he could. Tie prisoner seemed to have left this employment on the 16t► of July, having been en gaged in the manner above state for about nine months, and it appeared that on the 13th of the same month the cheque in question was presented at Messrs Glyn's, who were the prosecutor's London bankers, and paid to a stranger who could not be idea, tifiel, over the counter. The case against the prisoner rested entirely upon evidence with re gard to his handwriting, several witnesses expressing a positive opinion that the body of the cheque and signature were written by the prisoner. It appeared in the course of the case that during the last 12 months the prosecutor was very feeble, and that he was alnost entirely blind, and could with great difficulty recognise any one who was close to him, and it was likewise proved that a great number of pers , ns might have had access to his cheque- books, and that occasionally the bodies of his cheques were filled up by different members of his own femilY• A witness named Haynes, who described himself as a town missionary at Brighton, who had been in the habit of trequently visiting the prosecutor upon matters of business, and also to ask him for pecuniary assistance to relieve some of the sick poor he was in the habit of visiting, was cross. examined at considerable length with reference to his means of knowing the prisoner's handwriting and o , her matters, and he professed to speak positively to certain letters and figures in the cheque as being those of the prisoner; and he caused some amusement in the court by stating that he (witness) made his letters differently. Mr Mitchell, the clerk at Glyn's, preyed that when the forged ch• quo was presented he showed it to another clerk► and he expressed his opinion that the signature was genuine and it was paid in two £5O notes, four £lO notes, and £lO in gold. His was unable to say by whom the cheque was presented, and he could not tell whether he had ever seen the prisoner until he was in custody upon the present charge. The Rev. Mr Roper, the prosecutor, who was examined feora the bench, proved that the cheque was a forgery, and that he had never authorised the prisoner to draw a cheque for £l5O for hips, or received such an amount from him. The prisoner, it appeared, was a pupil teacher in a school in which the reverend gentleman took an interest, and by this means their acquain tancecommenced, and the prisoner went into his service in the capacity above stated. In answer to questions put in cross-examination the pro secutor said that the prisoner was irregular in his attend ance, and did not give him satisfaction, and he gave him notice to quit his service at the end of the quarter. At the solicitation of his mother he consented to allow the prisoner to remain in his service, but only under a weekly engage ment, and upon the prisoner telling him that he had got an engagement as a clerk ie a brewery in London he allowed him to go at the end of the week which terminated on the 16th July. In reply to questions put by the learned judge the rev. goutlomau stated that at present he signed his cheques en tirely mechanically, and was unable to read the signature after it was written. He also said that he never authorised he prisoner to draw up the body of auy cheque for so large an amount as £l5O. Wm. Marsh, police-sergeant at Hove, proved that he apprehended the prisoner at Shorne, Kent, in August last, and when he told him that he was eharged with forging a cheque for £l5O, he said it was false, he knew nothing about it. When they were going through London the pri soner asked him where he was going to take him to, and he told him to Messrs Glyn's bank, to see if they could identify him as the person who had pissed the forged cheque, and the prisoner said, " I did not do that ; I was not employed to do that." There was no evidence that any portion of the proceeds of the forgery came i4to the possession of the pri soner. Mr Begley, in the course of an able address to tne jury on nehalf of the prisoner, comtiented upon the very extra ordinary nature of t , ,e case, and the evidence that had been adduced as to handwriting, upqn which, he sate, the charge against the prisoner entirely rested. He then remarked upon the fact that the alleged offence was committed so tar back as July of last year, and that the prisoner made no attempt to abscond ; and he submitted that it was to the highest degree improbable that a young man of good cearac er, as the prisoner was proved to h 4.17,3 been, should have been guilty of such a serious offence as the one imputed to him by the protent indictment. The learned counsel then proceeded to cow:aunt at considerable length upon the evidence that had bean given with regard to the forged cheque being in the haylwritiog of the prisoner, and in conclusion he urged that tilers was at all events suffi cient doubt in the case to justify the jury in acquitting the prisoner. The learned judge, in summing up the case to the jury, told them that if they should ttdnk that the prosecutor had been induced by any device to sign this cheque, and that the signature was genuine, he was of opinion they would not be justified in convicting the prisoner upon the present in qiguhest possibly be amena bl e to some tion, therefore, for thei r consi odtihctemr c en h t a , r a g l e t . ho T ug h h e fi h r e s m t consi deration was whether a forgery had in point of fact been committed, and if so, whether the evidence made out to their satisfaction that the prisoner was the person guilty of that offence. The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict o Not Guilty, NORFOLK CIRCU IT. -- AYLESBUItY, Dec. 21. In the case of Joseph Baker, charged with arson, which was proceeding when our parcel was despatched, Mr New ton, for the prosecution, addressed the jury in reply, and his lordship summed up, observing that the question was if Hubbs' story was true ; and if it was not he must have committed wilful and malicious perjury. Spies and informers were ptl,ple who were not looked upon a very favourable eye, but this man was only acti ng in accordance with the orders of his superior. Hi s story was confirmed by the fact that the policeman had gone by a short time before the fire broke out, and if H u bb a did not hear this from the pri soner he would hardly have guessed ii, Than there were marks in the hedge, and a part of which the prisoner spoke of was broken, and several other circumstances. His lord ship having gone through the facts of the case, the jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty. James Ross, 29, glassblower, Eli Abbott, and John Draper, 30, shoemakers, pleaded not, guilty to _a charge of unlawfully entering, together with other persons unknown, to the num ber of three or more, a certain close of land at Broughton on the night of the 2nd Oo ober last, armed with bludgeons, for the purpose of taking and destroying game. Mr Markby appeared for the prosecution ; Mr Graham defended the prisoner Draper; the other prisoners were un defended, It appears that on the night in question Mr Tyringham's two gamekeepers were aroused about two o'clock, and hav ing procured the assistance of four men, went to a neigh homing cover, where they found some nets set, and shortly after came up to five or six men, who rushed upon them and attacked them with large sticks, and having inflicted conai detable injury on the keepers, macle their escape. The keepcus afterwards found a quantify of nets and some begs containing 18 rabbits and a hare. Two days after this the prisoners were seen in Bedford by police constable Stennett, who having heard of a reward of £25 being offered for the apprehension of the poachers took Abbott and Rosa into custody. Draper got off by the train, and was taken into custody in London, Stennett having - elegraphed to the au thorities there. Witnesses were called, who proved that the prisoners were seen together in Bedford shortly 'Douro the 2d October, and that they had in their possession the bags and nets which were found by the keepers, and the keepers swore to ail the men as having assaulted them on the night in question. A eitness was also called who proved that he saw the prisoners Ross and Abbott at his public house, which is about five miles from the scene of the affray, at 6 o'clock on the morning in question. Mr Graham addressed the jury for the prisoner Draper, contending that the evidence of identity was unsatisfactory, and commenting on the fact that Draper was not seen at the public-house with the others. The other prisoners having addressed the jury, His Lordship summed up, and weals doing so recalled the publican, who then said that Draper was outside his house when the other prisoners came in. he jury found all the prisoners guilty. A great number of convictions were then read out agains. Ross, who had been on one occasi .n sentenced to four years' penal servitude for night poaching and assaulting keepers. His lordship sentenced ktoss to 16 years' penal servitude, and the other two to 18 months' imprisonment with hard labour. This case, which was not over till nine o'clock, concluded the business of the assizes, and there are no more winter assizes on this circuit. OXFORD CIRCUIT —READING, Dec. 22 The commission for the winter assize for the county of Berks was opened in the new assize courts yesterday after noon by Mr Justice By les. His lordship afterwards attended Divine service at St. Mary's parish church. The calendar contained the names of 21 prisoners for trial. George Parkinson, aged 27, was indicted for having wil. ful y and maliciously set fire to a stack of clover hay, the property of Henry Smith, at Dedworth, near Windsor, on the 10th of October last. Mr It. Sawyer prosecuted. The evidence went to show that the prisoner was seen leaning over a gate near the rickyard about 10 minutes be fore the fire broke out, and on the following day he went to Police-constable Field, and spoke to him about the fire, concluding by saying, " Well, I did it." The officer told him he should be careful not to say anything to criminate htmself, but this had no effect upon him, and he said " That he had laid out of doors for six nights, and that being in a state of starvation, he did not care what became of him. The man was then taken to the police-station at Clewer, and was asked whether he set the rick wilfully on fire, or accidentally. He said he did it, but there was more burnt than ought to have been; he did not intend that the large rick should be burnt, but only the small one, and, after setting the rick on fire he threw the matches over a hedge into a field on the opposite side. The police-con stable afterwards went to a field, and found the box of matches, which the prisoner admitted to have belonged to him. The jury found the prisoner guilty, and the learned judge intimated that he would defer passing sentence. Joseph Haines, aged 25, and Sarah Bartlett, aged 24, were indicted for violently assaulting and stealing 145., a tablet, and a soldier's discharge, from Benjamin Wheeler, at Newbury, on the 4th of November last. Both prisoners pleaded guilty, Mr Justice Byles sentenced Haines to five years' penal servitude, and the woman to 18 months' imprisonment. On leaving the dock, the latter said, " I ~u ght to have as much as he. for I helped to rob the man." Commercial Travellers' School. The anniversary dinner of the Comrnercial Travellers' Orphan School was hold at the London Tavern last evening, the Duke of Cambridge presiding. There was a numerous attendance, and among the guests present were the Lord Mayor, the Sheriff= of London, Col. Tyrwhitt (in attendance on the Duke of Cambridge), Mr Alderman Gibbons, the Common Sergeant (Mr Thomas Chambers), Mr G. Moore, Mr Charles Woollaston, and Mr G. Hewitt, &c. In givir g the usual loyal toasts, the Duke of CAMBRIDGE adverted to the fact that the Prince of Wales was the patron of the institution, and that the late Prince Consort opened the schools in person, and took a great interest in them. The Duke of CAMBRIDGE next proposed " The Army, Navy, and Volunteers," and said—To a stranger it may appear singular that in a commercial country like ours we should upon all occasions like this give this toast, as I believe we now do, with all our heart. (Hear, hear.) For my own part I heartily hope that it may continue a stereotyped toast among us. (Cheers.) lam addressing gentlemen chiefly interested in the commercial affairs ot the country, and I apprehend that we soldiers cannot be more interested in this toast than you are. (Hear, hear.) You have large trading concerns to attend to. You are anxious to see your com merce extended over every portion of the globe. You are, also, naturally anxious that commercial transactions should be conducted with that regularity and perfect confidence which can only exist so long as you know that the country is perfectly safe from aggression or from insult. (Hear, hear.) But you cannot enjoy this security unless you have a powerful army and navy. (Hear, hear.) And it is well that these views should be dissetui nated at a time like the present. It is true that it is a time of profound peace. A great war, with which happily we have nothing to do, is going forward elsewhere; but we are in a state of the profoundest peace. and the natural result is that we are a little disposed to say, " Now is the time for reducing expenditure. It is very pleasant to take off taxes —let us reduce our military and naval armaments, and we shall be just as happy and just as safe as we were before." Now if I could persuade myself that we should be as happy and as safe with less powerful armaments I should be most willing to see them reduced, but my conviction is that our security as a nation is due to the efficiency of our arms afloat and ashore. (Cheers.) For commercial and not for military reasons I am convinced that the best investment you can make is to leave well alone, for, believe me, if by the means I have described yeti were now to take off a little taxation, the chances are that you would have to pay double and treble the amount of this gain hereafter. (Cheers.) I hope you will forgive me for these observa tions, but while I often hear this subject discussed, it is not very often I have the opportunity in such a society as this of expressing my sentiments, and I hope - you will receive them in the kindly spirit in which they are offered. (Hear.) Although the greater number of those present are civi lians. I believe I am not mistaken in assuming that the Volunteers have a considerable following among you, and I therefore beg you will all cordially j iin i a the toast, " The Army, the Navy, and the Volunteqrs." (Loud cheers.) Captain GREATTREX responded ter the Volunteers, and in doing so assured his Royal Highness that the feeling ot the mercantile community was not in favour of a reduction of the Army Estimates " The Health cf the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs" was then proposed by his Royal Highness, the Lord Mayor and Mr Alderman and Sheriff Dakin responding. In proposing the toast of the evening, the Duke of CAM BRIDGE enlarged on the advantages of the school which had been established since 1849, and now contained about 60 girls and 100 boys lhe commercial classes were especially liable to the ups and downs of life and what could be more acceptable to such persons than a knowledge that i❑ the event of their death their children would be well edu cated and well cared f ? It was important that the com mercial travellers themselves should, in proportion to their means, subscribe to this charity. There were 30,000 commer cial travellers in England, but far too small a proportion of them were subscribers. As to the children, he understood that when they left school they had turned out extremely well ; some of them had acquitted themselves most creditably in the middle-class examinations instituted by the two Uni versities, and others who had become established in life were now subscribers to the institution. (Cheers.) "The health of the Duke of Cambridge" having been drunk with all the honours, Mr G. Moore acknowledged-the next toast of "The President, Vice-President, and Trustees of the School," and said that the institution could now boast of a fine building at Pinner, and 25 acres of land. that they were in a s )und commercial poeit,on, and that they would have to provide for 172 children during the year. Subscriptions and donations to the amount of nearly £1,200 were announced, including 20 guineas froca his Royal Highness. Several other toasts were proposed when the Duke of Cambridge left the chair, the Lord Mayor tak ing his place ; and during the evening the children were introduced and sang two part songs vet y creditably. Mr Harker officiated as toastmaster. The vocalists were under the direction of Mr H. Buckland. Frightful Collision on the Great Western Railway. At an early hour yesterday morning a moEt alarming accident occurred at the Slough Station of the Greet Western Railway. It appears that the broad guage up-parcels train which left Bristol at 9 25 p.m. on Wednesday evening arrived safely outside the Slough junc tion about half.past 1 o'clock yesterday morning, and the driver, Richard Cowell, seeing the signals open for the pas sage of his train, proceeded to run through the station, the rate at which he was travelling being about 30 miles an hour. Previous to the arrival of the parcels train at Slough a narrow guage goods train had been shunted on to the rails in the middle of the line, nearly midway between the up and down stations, where it remained It was then the duty of the attendant switchman to open the points in order to keep the broad gauge up-main line right for the passage of the through trains. This, it would seem, from some unex plained cause, was not done, and as the up parcels train came thundering through the station and reached the points in question the engine,instead of remaining on the main up line, turned on to the rails along which the goods train had passed, and after missing two or three of the carriages of the tetter train crashed into it with frightful violence, striking several of the other trucks and vans, breaking them up and scattering their contents over the railway. Meanwhile the parcels train continued its career, although several of its carriages h .d sustained the greatest damage, a second class and composite carriage having had 'heir sides nearly smashed in, the glass end window being entirely destroyed, while the large break van had been crushed like an egg. shell by the dreadful force of the collision, and ultimately got off I he rail into the six—toot, when it stopped. Tho works on the side of its engine, where it had dragged against the goods train, were nearly swept away, and the locomotive itself disabled, while several of the carriages, trucks, and vans of both train. were turned over, and the ruins piled up in a confused mass OL: the middle of the line, thus com pletely blocking it up. How the driver and stoker of the parcels train escaped with their lives is almost a miracle, while the guard of the goods train must also have had a very narrow escape. Immediately after the accident Mr Burlinson, the Slough superintendent,reaohed the scene an took prompt measures to remedy the disaster and restore the traffic upon the line. MrGrierson, the general manager, and Mr Tyrrell, the traffic superintendent of the Great Western Railway,were at once informed of the nature of the collision, and reached Slough early in the morning, and with Messrs. Armstrong and Wright, of the lo:ornotive department, and other officials, gave instructions for the clearing of the line, In order to eff , et this operation as quickly as possible about 150 plate-layers and workmen were emoloyed from the time of the accident in lifting the heavy masses of broken iron and timber, the remains of the trucks and vans, and placing them in trucks, by which they were conveyed trom the station. The most powerful jacks had to be used to raise the heavy tender, and it will give some idea of the extreme force of the collision when it is stated that the thick iron axles of some of the trucks were bent and twisted like wire. By great exertions a portion of the line was sufficiently cleared to enable the traffic to bt resumed both ways after some little delay, Some of the trains were unavoidably delayed for a short time, the 12 50 Bristol being detained about half an hour outside the station. In the course of the morning this was remedied by passing the up• passenger trains on reaching the bridge over the line, west of the sta tion, along the rails running through the station itself, and sending the goods through the Queen's curve, and thence also through the station, the down-trains being treated in a similar manner. In the course of the morning the rails torn up were replaced, and b) the early part of the after noon the line was cleared by the united exertions of the railway officials. It is most fortunate that the trains which came into collision were not passenger trains ; for had t hat been the ca -e the loss of life must have been fearful, while as it is the destruction of property is great. The engine driver states that he saw the switchman's lamp near its usual spot, though why the points were closed and the accident thus caused is at present a mystery. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES. —lt is no slight testimony to the course taken by her Majesty's Government. in its dealings with Federal America that Mr Seward, with the animus he cannot conceal, is driven to make the most -of an opportunity offered him by a person wholly irresponsible as a representative of the nation. His letter to Mr Adams on Lord Wharnciiffe's pros posel to mitigate the sufferings of the Conted.erate prisoners, indicates the use he is prepared to make of the least official slip on the part of our Cabinet or representative. It may not be a matter of temper, it may be a political, nay, almost a constitutional necessity that an American Minister should speak his mind out upon every occasion. Mr Seward may not be quite the offensive personage his correspond ence would lead one to suppose, but he must be hard driven when he has to express so much indignation on so trifling an affair. W-, indeed, question the wi-dom and good taste of Lord Wnarncliffe's offer. No doubt the condition of the Confederate prisoners, as of ail prisoners, is bad enough, but it is too much to expect the Federal Government to make a public admission of inhumani.y by accepting assistance from foreigners. As a mere affair of almsgiving, too, the Federal prisoners in the South are much more in want of any assistance we could send them than the Confederate prisoners in the North, not neces sarily because they are treated with intentional bar barity, but because the scale of living is now lower here, in consequence of the continued devastation et the soil and blockade of the ports b% the Federal arms. Such gifts as Lord Wuarnc iffe's, however, are always of questionable propriety . Th e f ew t h ou elands sent by some b nevolent ladies and gentlemen tor the relief of the Danish wounded coat rusted pain• fully with the armies, the fleets, the tni.lions of money, and the dread risks of war which we did n contribute. In that case, however, we had avowed our sympathy ; there were fresh and tender ties with he oppressed victim; we put the money Into the hands of our good friends for to spend on a work of necessity; we did not invite r he Germans to endorse t heir own condemnation Lord What neliffe and hi s friends proposed something of this kind to thsF e d era l Government, and Mr Seward seizes the opportu nity to proclaim to the universe the hypocrisy, the immorality the covetousness, the cruelty, th e in sincerity, and all the other well-known qualities of the British people. We have so little knowledge of the subscription and the proposal made through kir Adams that we do not know what p retext M r Seward can have for identifying the contributo rs , including Lord Wharncliffe, with the o wners o f the Alabama and the Florida and the authors, whoever they may be, of the present Civil War. That an English nobleman should sympathise with the Confederate rather than the Federal sid e. i s probable enough, for reason s which it is needless now to touch upon. But it is either . bad logic or a vary gross calumny to hold the British people gene rally responsible in the lest degree whatever for the supply of arms and ammunition or ships of wa r to either side of the quar rel. It is on the face of our trade Returns that our merchants have fur nished many times more arms and ammunition to the Federate than to the " Insurgents." Indeed, the Federal Government has never protested against the traffic, knowing well that, whatever q uest i on i t might choose to raise about ships of war, it cou ld nut say a word, and had no object in saying a wor d, about arms and ammunition. As to ships of war, oar readers must have seen by a letterin our columns of yesterday that nowhere has the case and the duty of neutral Powers been so exactly and decisively stated as by the American Governm:nt itself when called upon to stop the ravages of privateers ,ailing out from its own ports to prey upon the commerce of Portugal, with which Power it was at perfect amity, Toe American Government could only say that it did its best as for as the lawand the practical difficulties of the case would allow, but that it could not be held responsible for acts done on the open sea under a fiig not its own, nor could it declare a fl ig to be piratical because it could not possibly sail out of any port of the Power to whim , it professed to belong. Though it appears that scores of privateers issued from the ports of the United States belonging to American citizens, manned and equipped by them, and that, after eoisting the flig of a South American adventurer, they preceded without scruple to seize and oppio prime Portuguese ships and cargoes, the Govern ment of Washington could only express their idle -egrets it the practice, which neither by law nor in pr,ctice could they sto:). One or two ships, in teed, were restored to the Portuguese owners by he American Courts of Law, hut that was all the redress the Portuguese were ever able to obtain. and it was in the course of law, not by any act of the State. Mr. Sew rd, then, has no possib!e excuse for imputing to us these annoyances, w hi c h every iover of justice and peace in this country would gladly see prevented, but which, unfortunately, are not prohibited by the Law of Nations, for the simple reason that there is really no way of reaching them. The sea is a very large place and a very free one. it is the very home of fre t d on en d i n d epea d e nc e , for it owns no sup remacy and i s amenable to no police. We cannot scrutinis e ever y fl ag w hi c h ap pears upon its surface, o r i equ i re into th e geo graphical and mercantile conditions of the State it represents : So says the American Government, and no doubt it will stand b y i ts own doctr i ne. T he Americans themselves, wh o ma d e a su b scr i pt i on f or the relief of our manufacturers, admitted thereby that our own interests are in the direction of peace, and that we are fellowasufferers by the war. No doubt, if our Government had the power, it would stop that war as heartily and as energetically as a war on our own Soli. To what purpose, then, does Mr. Seward talk of British subjects promoting - and protracting that war? If it only means that British subjects make gunpowder and guns, and sell and convey these articles to a nyb o d y w b o w ill b u y them, that is a practice as old as the world and es wide as the world. It has al ways been recognised by the Americans, and never more so than at this moment. The best argument for the practice is that it cannot possibly be prevented, either at the port of export, where tr a d e wou ld b e stoppe d a l toget h er if every .package were opened and turned inside out by the Custom-house officers or the police, or at the port of import, where there is, of course, under the supposition, not the least wish to prohibit the importation. Any attempt to stop the traffic could be only by an appeal to conscience, by txemination of bills and cargo, and by the position of oaths and declarations. All these means have been tried long ago, and they only end in throwing trade, manufacture, and commerce into the hands of the utterly unprincipled,.to the, eXclu ftiou of honest men. Mr Seward knows this fur better than we could tell him. He knows, too, that in every one of the questions raised by the Civil War we are only moving in lines already laid down for us by the lawyers, the statesmen, the conscience, and the public opinion of the United States. We are in the same case as they are, and whatever abuse Mr Seward chooses to lavish on us simply recoils on the heads of his own people. POST.—On Saturday Manchester was the scene of an explosion the immediate result of which was to depriv e o f l if e a f ather an d son on t h e spot ; to induce premature delivery of a pregnant wife, in. voiving death to the newly born; and, as there is much reason to fear, death before the when this will appear in print to the mother_ The reu,t, it will be seen, vv,*s very melatchoiy, irrespective of the cause or causes in which it originated ; not on that account, however, do we now advert to it, The de struction of three or four lives *would not in itself furnish the elements of any great pre-eminence for newspaper comment now, at the time when the era of heavy lugg age tra i ns has set in, and r a ilway accidents from collision are lamentably so rife. The Manchester explosive accident possesses other claims on public regard, as making known a source of danger altogether new, so far as we are a A , 'are, or rather newly discovered. To set forth the particulars of the accident in such a manner as shall make them most generally comprehended, we would first call attention to the frequent use now made in exnibitions of public display of the powerful oxy-hydrogen lime or Drummond light. At all seasons is this ligh 7 much employed but more especially at the pre. sent season, when hardly any plac e o f p u bli c enter tainment is without an optical ghost, a series of dissolving views, an illuminated fairy scene, or, i, short, one of the manifold displays wherein a brile tient illumination is needed. Now, it seems, but we were not pr vionsly eoguisent of the fact, that to such an i x tut has the use of this bri tient 4 lit developed itaelt t .at toe manutacture of oxygen gas has become a somewhat important operation amongst the minor branches of industry in certain cities and large towns ; that this gas, when distilled from the materials suitable to evolve it, is conveyec! from the place of its manufacture to the place of sate in mackintosh or elastic bags. With these pee liminary explanations, let us now set forth the pare titulars of the eccideet by explosion at Manchester on Saturday, and which resulted in the loss of life already indicated. In the first accounts vehicb., reached us on Monday, it was stated that Samuel Crowther, the operator and elder deceased, 's' 39 t distilling oxygen gas from a mixture of peroxide 01 manganese and chlorate of potash in a retor t (the latter being an iron cylinder), w h en suddenly the retort burst with a terrific crash. ' its fragment s scat tered about like those of a bombshell. Such was the account that reached us, and we, doubtless like m aul of hers to whom the intelligence came, waited for further particulars, inasmuch as the result, accord: ing to every previous experience of chemistry at all bearing upon the matter, should have been impos sible, having regard to the materials and the 0 0 h" ditions involved. The distillation of oxygen gas from peroxide of manganese and chlorate of peverotash, y mingled together is an operation that nearly beginner in chemistry performs, and performs under no more imminent fear of danger than such as might happen. quite innocently, from the non -ti" plosive breakage or disarrangement of his apparatus. We venture to affirm that, had a chemist been In" terrogated as to the contingent possibility of an ex' plosion of the grave character to which reference is made, under the circumstances indicated, his reply would have been emphatically in the negative. The a mechanical stoppage might have occurred, as in any possible case of gaseous emanation, with force exercised a tergo, is a proposition to which be would have assented; but that any igneous ex' plosion could have happened, he would ha ve e l once and unhesitatingly pronounced as beyond the scope of impossibilities involved by the circumstances and the occasion. The coroners inquest holden upon the victims of this accident seems to have removed every lingering doubt, 1° have resolved the whole mystery. If the testimo n y given by the Professor of Chemistry at Owen's C° l ; lege (Mr Roscoe) be unasseilabie, then the caus e °I accident stands revealed. According to that gentr man, the calamity is traceable to adulteration of the peroxide of manganese—a black mineral powder' with another black substance ; the latter, accordiog to him, either powdered coal or soot. Under the se circumstances, given this adulteration, Professq Roscoe explained to the coroner's jury impannelleu that peroxide of manganese, instead of re maining harmless under process of distillation, became equally"" dangerous with so much gunpowder. Starting f r,„ this point of testimony, the purchase of the P et : t , cular sample of peroxide of m , nganese to w hi ff ; the deadly result is attributable was traced in source, the shop of a chemist n'med Hughes, 97 ": 1 ; now, on the testimony of Professor Roscoe, sta nds committed on the charge of manslaughter. 11 4 " .. ' tees stated the issues, it would perhaps be rattier out of place were we to enter upon the chemical re s. tionale of the theory of explosion as contingent of roe distillation of chlorate of potash and peroxid e° manganese mingled with coal or soot instead of 111 : pure peroxide. Enough to state that, given any hydrogenous material, such as pit coal, for exaroPle' the immediate conditions would be supplied fof generating fire-damp within the restricting lt of the iron cylinder heated to redness. The res u " of this will stand self-suggested to any mind, ever untrained in the principles and practice chemical science. As the result at Manchester woulo have been pronounced impossible by any chem ist ; reasoning upon the assumption that the peroxides manganese employed for the evolution of oXYge,ebe was pure, so, conversely, the same result wouid pronounced next to inevitable on the assuroP tiee f of conditions as explained by the testimony of Professor Roscoe. Inasmuch as this is the firs accident of the kind that we have heard of, perleg e it may be fair to assume that the most reprehen sibl e adulteration disclosed by Professor Roscoe rosy either local or else may not have come into gene° practice. At any rat e p u bli c a tte n tion should be given to this matter, now that our juveniles are s ° frequently, and, as we have hitherto all believed, se innocently recreating themselves by the produe' l3 of oxygen gas for purposes of holiday experiment°' in COUNTRY MARKETS. BIRMINGHAM—THURSDAY. There was a fair supply of E ng li s h w h ea t i n our corp. , market to-day, which rea li se d l as t wee k' s quotat i ons InA g ", t3 qualities. Fine barley dearer; s e c on d s unaltered. v,,. held for quite as much money. B eans an d peas inant'' s I —English wheat was sold at 40s to 44 s for white, and ' t to 41s per 36 stone for r e d, B ar l ey, new ma lti ng , 28 5 ,, n ° 0 k 34s per qr; g r i n di ng , 22 5 , t o 25 s O ats, o ld, 248 to ov per 30 stone ; Irish, 198 to 245. Beans, 38s to 428 per q r/ peas, 38s to 40s per 36 stone. MANCHESTER—THURSDAY. k e t There was only a moderate attendance at cur 13 33 ,r - „t this morning, and Eng,ish wheat was taken off slow ly he cut rency of last week. Flour also moved off slowlY , late prices. Oats and oatmeal were in limited reques,* Beans as before. Indian corn 6d per qr dearer. BURY ST. EDMUND'S—WEDNESDAY. There was a good show of wheat and barley at this s o u s ket to-day, for which the sales were slow at the P re°l quotations. EDINBURGH GRAIN—WEDNESDAY. ,03 To-day there was a fair supply of country wheat, sold readily at late rates. Wheat on the top ós Od down dow Barley on the top Os 6d down ~averageaverage O e s s Il a d Oats on the top Os 6d up,.... ,..average Os 4d , ° Ol. Beans on the top 6s Od down ..average is 2ct m- Total Supply and Sales. Wheat ... 691 qrs Sold 453.qrs 8ar1ey........z134 qrs Sold 1674 qrs Oats Beans l3B qrs Sold 115 qrs Avei a 6 3 ge Prices. 18 5 0 Wheat.. Barley 24s 8d I ean Town. made flour sells as follows s : —Whit e , 365 3 ; 5p5 -it ra superfine. 31s; superfine, 32s 6d ; fine, 31s. , GLA.SGO W—EDNES. or ° The market was moderately a W ttended. DAY Wheat WO d lv ull. I ,, oked at, but sold slowly at late rates. Barley wat3teudP Ooata were unchanged. Beans and peas were 0 Barrel flour held firmly for over late rates. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. nee' l o g . ' vustralia and Mauritius, via Southampton. ......... 1-' ot a Marseilles . ... ""„,.. 5. Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. ....... ic e ,. ••2 9 ' ,ape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena. no 19; !hina, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. p e e . 2 1 • via Marseilles • • • Falkland Islands . - • 1 9 .. • •, eO . ~ Gibraltar, via Southamptt Ti .............. Dec.) 19„' India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southarnpton•• ve o. ~i via Marseille.•• • • . 2 i ndia (Bombay), via Southampton .. ... Y l e e c e . . 1 via Marseilles ............... t' sv , 6_ Portugal.... .pe e. O. Attila, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton • . p e e. ni via Marseilles ...... • . Deo. '' Newfoundland .• • 2 1 ' Oporto and Vigo U. . S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.. • •' 3 --by U.S. [acket..••"o. ~ by Canadian packet•j: o . iti' J 2 9 ' W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe .......... pee.- . West. . ... Indies and Pacific ...... iA. Jo. „ i . Bahamas (via New York) ............. . D e o :.,',. . Bermuda (ditto) pee , '' Cuba and Mexico 0 rdsl • j • SUSPENSION IN BIRMINGHAM._yeste ate t ,O , announced the suspension of Mr Henry Gurney , ll _ go , " , ber trade. We have now to add the failure of Mriiitlee Lloyd, foreign timber dealer, of this town. The 11°' are said to be very heavy.—Bmniagham Past Births. It) °la Bn w E i N te D o O t NzO io n r B th r e en 2 d l o s n t , in it s . t 2l .,. , at of T a n d e a G ug r o h y t e e , r. a°o° oo . DRAKE —On the 20th inst., at 15, York-Place, ii(g square, Mrs. T. Lt. Drake, of a son. i. TrlY„ e. MACKLIN.—On the 27th inst. , at M ount Pleasant' ,sou l' hill, the wife of Horace S. M Acklin , Es q ., of a ter. Marriages. f ., , of 4 : LEE—MOCATTA.— Oa the 21st inst., Barnard -•-•„-e'eidge" Cambridge-terrace, Cornwall-road, Notting-bi"9ttolde son or-Barnet Lee, Eeq , of 6, Bristol-gardentroottilo hill, to Miriam, only daughter of the late Isaac lu E,q. C ,s WILKINSON—LUAS.—n the 22d inst,, t St. Id i3 '' g r e k st t huroh, Robert B. Wilkinson,O to Lizzie,a the Y° u daughter of the late R. Lucas, Eeq. Deaths. ALvrox.—On the 2)th inst., Henry Frederic Alstoi3) Pl.' aged 75. ~ WOO. COTSTON.—On the 20th inst. at Rounclaway-Par" , Edward Colston, Eeq., aged 42. MARTINDALE —On the 21st inst., suddenly, .m. Martindale, Eeq , barrister -at-law, Of W a 1 t°33144.761e;r6e; Lincoln's-inn. Tr e V alli" MORRISIT.—On the 20th inst., at Hapsford ......V . f l a t i /sT,,vl l Freres, Captain Henry Ci3orge Morrish, l‘u•Y aged 63, 1 Dr Wig', Neill, NEILL —Oa the 21st inst., at Liverpoo , , F.R.A.S. laoei 13elgr"" WATTS.—On the 20th inst., at 19, Wilton - p square, Reading Watts, aged oi• ~......_...e. ------ -----,—., ,; - ,1 . 5• ~.------- Strand, al Lon o d f on N : o .P . andriflh2z:esdhter anrdr i , e c ' ti Precinct e l l: i s t t l i eo e ri d , a n cit y: i V sl l 7 l,: sv l t: t s a l ot ti e l c ) : .. o , i o 9 t t jaida,ioc—Friday, December 23, isa